


Do-si-do

by Mookie



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - High School, Because ship happens, F/M, Gift Fic, I REGRET NOTHING, Kahono ships it, Not Beta Read, some background ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26025151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mookie/pseuds/Mookie
Summary: Kahono wasn’t a matchmaker, exactly – she certainly didn’t make a habit of it – but that didn’t mean she couldn’t tell that two of her friends were so incredibly right for each other. The problem was that it was already frustrating enough to see their relationship stalling, and then there were all these other people getting in the way.ORFive times people (kind of) got in the way of Asta's and Noelle's developing relationship and one time they didn't.
Relationships: Asta/Noelle Silva, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 91





	1. Freshman Year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RubyLace](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyLace/gifts).



> Hoo boy. Well, here's me attempting to write for another new fandom. First attempt at writing a 5+1, too. The first fic is always the hardest, though, and a promise is a promise - RubyLace has waited a long time for this birthday gift fic to take shape.

“You idiot! What are you even doing here?”

Kahono was towel drying her hair when she heard Noelle Silva screeching, which could mean only one thing. Or, to be more accurate, one person.

“Oh, hi, Noelle. Fancy meeting you here.”

“I’m always here after school!” Noelle stomped her foot, making a tiny splash in the water pooling at her feet.

“You are?”

“I’m on. The _swim_ team. _Asta.”_

Kahono laughed quietly. She could imagine steam coming out of Noelle’s ears at this point. She supposed she should join them. It wouldn’t do for Noelle to lose her temper here. The tiles were very slippery, and as amusing as it would be to see them both end up in the pool, Asta wasn’t dressed for it, and Kahono knew that Noelle would regret it immediately, if only because their recently hired swim coach, who also happened to be Kahono’s father, would certainly extract some sort of punishment.

“Yeah, I seem to remember you mentioning that.” When Kahono joined them, Asta was tapping his chin and looking aimlessly toward the ceiling.

“Hey, Asta,” Kahono greeted him with a smile and a wave. “Did you come to cheer us on?”

“Hey, Kahono!” he responded with a much more eager wave of his own. Kahono bit back a smile as Noelle leaned to the side to avoid being backhanded.

“You don’t need to shout, Asta. She’s right here,” Noelle said, jabbing her elbow into Asta’s sternum.

“Of course she is. That’s why I’m saying hi,” Asta explained, but this time he was using his indoor voice. Physically, Asta didn’t look old enough to be in high school, and the confused look on his face made him seem even younger.

“Well, there’s nothing to cheer on right now. In case you hadn’t noticed, this is practice.” She gestured to the now empty pool.

“Well of course it is,” Asta said. “Training is how you get stronger!” He flexed his arm to demonstrate, and Kahono didn’t miss the way Noelle’s eyes focused on Asta’s biceps, and especially didn’t miss the way the other girl’s cheeks flushed.

“You all right, Noelle?” Asta asked, lowering his arm. He pressed the back of his hand against Noelle’s forehead.

“What?” Noelle asked, and Kahono nearly squealed at the dreamy expression on her face.

“It’s just that you look like you need to take a dump or something. Or is it leave a dump? You really wouldn’t want to take one anywhere, would you?”

Noelle shoved him with both hands as hard as she could.

“I do not need to – to – I can’t believe you – you’re such an idiot!” she finished, shoving him again, even harder, before storming off toward the locker rooms.

“She really has been working out,” Asta said, staring after her.

Kahono shook her head. He was so obviously impressed with Noelle’s display of strength and yet so oblivious to her display of emotion. She’d only been at Clover High since January – her father’s employment with the district allowed Kahono and her older brother to attend, even though they didn’t live within the city limits – but she could clearly see that Noelle was into Asta. Like _seriously_ into him. Noelle was so into him that Kahono didn’t think it would be too difficult for someone who was paying even cursory attention to figure out Noelle’s feelings. Unless that someone was Asta.

They were all just freshmen, though, so it was possible that things would be different next year. Her only experience with high school romance was through her brother Kiato, who had fallen in love a number of times at his former school (Kahono had only been in middle school at the time and hadn’t attended). Each time, Kiato had professed that _this time_ it was the real thing. He’d been nursing a broken heart when he’d attended Kahono’s first swim meet, but he’d still been fascinated with Noelle’s hair color from the moment she pulled off her swim cap, so much so that he’d mentioned it to Kahono no less than three times as he drove her home.

Speaking of her brother, she was supposed to meet him in the fine arts wing, outside the dance studio, at four-thirty. She glanced at the clock on the wall. Asta turned his head to see what she was looking at, and he clutched his head with both hands.

“Sorry, Kahono, I’ve gotta go! If I’m late, Coach Yami will kill me!”

Kahono could feel the whoosh of air as he sped past her, and she marveled at how he managed to move so fast without slipping on the wet tiles once.

She glanced at the clock again. She should have enough time to shower before meeting Kiato, but if she was late, he was just going to have to wait. Besides, if he’d set his sights on Noelle, Kahono suspected he’d have to start getting used to disappointment at this school, too.


	2. Sophomore Year

“When doing chest compressions,” the first aid and CPR instructor explained, “you have to push both hard and fast. The best way to ensure you’re compressing at the necessary rate is to remember your goal for them is stayin’ alive.”

He demonstrated on the dummy, compressing with every syllable as he sang “ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive.”

 _Sang_ was a generous description, but Kahono was here to learn how to save a life, not critique a method that was pretty helpful. When the demonstration was done, he tapped a key on his laptop and showed a list of alternate songs that also had the necessary beats per minute.

“If you decide to use one of these songs,” he cautioned, “pick one you know and use it every time. This isn’t you picking the playlist when you have the aux. Someone’s life is at stake; the song is optional. The important thing is that you are doing one hundred compressions per minute. Begin… _now.”_

Kahono placed one hand over the other and locked her arms to begin compressions. She sang under her breath and was having no trouble with the fast part of the compressions, but the hard part was, well, it was difficult. She glanced over at the girl next to her, who was either in this class for a refresher or was a natural. She was grunting “ah, ah, ah” as she pressed, and Kahono could hear the clicks in the dummy’s chest. After watching through two repetitions of “stayin’ alive,” Kahono realized she was still keeping too much of her own weight back on her legs, and she repositioned herself to shift that weight to her upper body. With the first click, she wanted to whoop with delight, but she bit her lip and went back to singing as she pressed.

“I get kind of hectic inside, oh baby I'm so into you…”

The instructor was walking the room, correcting and praising depending on the student's compressions. He complimented girl-to-her-right before watching Kahono for an uncomfortably long time, and finally he deemed her technique correct and moved to the row of students behind them.

“I like that song,” the girl whispered. “It’s…”

“Relatable?”

The girl blushed. “Oh.” A quick glance around. “I guess it is.” The flush on her cheeks reminded Kahono of Noelle, whose attention hadn’t shifted away from the shortest student to ever play football for Clover High.

“Mariah Carey is my idol,” Kahono confessed. “I’m a singer, too.”

“I could tell,” the other girl smiled. “If your voice sounds like that when you’re doing CPR, I can only imagine what it sounds like when you can let it soar. Oh! I’m Mimosa,” she said, offering her hand.

Kahono clasped her hand briefly and introduced herself, and then it was time to practice with an AED.

It was definitely different taking a weekend class here at Golden Dawn Academy. Her father had described the class offered at Clover as having two or three dummies, so the students all had to take turns and the class ran much longer. There was also just a single AED, used as a demonstration so many times that the adhesive was no longer sticky. Here at GDA, every student had their own dummy and every student would get to use an AED. The difference in wealth between the schools was remarkable.

After the class ended, and the instructor had them check their contact information before signing out, Mimosa walked outside with her. 

“Are you taking chorus?” Mimosa asked.

“Yes,” Kahono answered, “but not here.”

“You’re not a Golden Dawn student? That explains why I don’t recognize you!” Mimosa seemed relieved.

“Do you know everyone in the sophomore class?”

The other girl nodded. Kahono supposed that a private school like GDA, which was expensive and had very demanding requirements, would have a smaller student population than a public school like Clover. Kahono was pretty good with names and faces, but there was no way she’d be able to remember everyone.

Kahono turned her phone back on to see a flurry of texts from her brother, who had apparently been "leaving now" at six different times.

“Do you need a ride?”

Kahono shook her head. “My brother is on his way. I think.”

Mimosa shuddered, and Kahono put her hand on the other girl’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“Just the thought of my brother coming to pick me up,” Mimosa said, her face pinching slightly.

“You don’t get along?”

“Kirsch is…a lot to take.”

“So who is picking you up? Your parents?”

Mimosa shook her head. “They’re away for the weekend. My friend – well, the friend of a friend – is picking me up. But my friend will be with him, so it should be okay.”

As if on cue, the sound of a loud engine could be heard, and it was getting louder. Not even a minute later, a motorcycle, all black and chrome, with some sort of horns on either side of the windscreen, pulled up, and the passenger got off, removing his helmet to reveal spiky ash colored hair.

“Hey, Kahono! I didn’t know you were taking this class with Mimosa!”

“I didn’t know you were the friend picking her up.” She looked at the rider, who was in the process of removing a helmet that had maybe a few too many rock band stickers on it.

“Hey, Kahono,” he grinned, holding out his fist.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in class or something right now?” She bumped her fist against his.

“Just finished a metallurgy test. I didn’t realize we’d have so many exams.”

“I don’t know, Magna,” Asta said. “School is right in the name and everything.”

“So is trade, short stuff!”

Kahono glanced over at Mimosa, only to see her looking starry eyed at Asta. Her eyes skated over to Asta, who seemed more interested in arguing with Magna than in the girl with the obvious crush standing right in front of him. At least with the way Noelle behaved, one could almost excuse his obliviousness, but Mimosa was an open book.

Kahono might have been biased, but she didn’t think Mimosa was going to have any more luck than Kiato was having.

“Guys?” Kahono asked. “How are you going to get Mimosa home?”

“She’s going to sit here,” Asta explained, patting the back of the seat.

“And how are _you_ getting back?”

Asta and Magna both looked at the bike, as if a third seat would miraculously appear. Even Mimosa looked surprised, as if her excitement at seeing Asta had replaced her common sense for a few minutes.

“We, uh, well, we didn’t think…”

If Noelle were here, she would have given them both an earful about their ability to think, but it was just as well she wasn’t. She wouldn’t much care for how Mimosa was eyeing her man. Not that Asta was technically Noelle’s yet, but that was just because he was slow and she was stubborn. Mimosa seemed to be a perfectly lovely girl, and the fact that she was friends with Asta was a point in her favor, but she had no chance.

Of course, Kahono might have also been a little bit biased because Noelle was her friend.

“I can give you a ride home,” she offered.

Mimosa was still staring at Asta. The disappointment on her face was clear, but Asta was too busy examining the bike as Magna complained about Luck and how he’d snuck out to Magna’s bike that morning to drink all of the coffee in his Thermos, and how the hell did that bastard expect him to stay awake in class when he did shit like that. After Asta’s third time around the bike, he went so far as to lift the flap of one of the saddlebags as if checking to see if he or Mimosa might have fit in there.

“Oh, thank you,” Mimosa replied. When she finally tore her eyes away from Asta, she looked both relieved and disappointed.

A car, one that looked very new and was obviously expensive, pulled up right behind Magna’s motorcycle, and the driver got out and sneered at it.

“You’ve _got_ to be kidding me.”

Asta and Mimosa both greeted him at the same time, Asta with a “hey, Solid” and Mimosa with a more formal “hello, Solid.”

Solid? This was one of Noelle’s older brothers then. The hair color was definitely the same as hers, and the haughty attitude was similar to Noelle’s when she felt her confidence fading. Or when she was around Asta.

“What are you doing here?” Mimosa asked. “Picking up your girlfriend?”

There seemed to be a little animosity behind her words. Had they dated at one time?

“I’m here for you. Kirsch said you needed a ride.”

“I told him I already had a ride!”

“This?” Solid gestured to the bike incredulously.

Mimosa grabbed on to Kahono’s arm. “No, with Kahono.”

“Kirsch said-“

“I don’t care what my brother said. I have a ride; you don’t need to worry about me. You can tell Kirsch he doesn’t need to worry about me, either.”

Solid shrugged. “I have much better things to do anyway.” He slid back behind the wheel of his car and backed away from the motorcycle. For a moment, Kahono thought he might suddenly accelerate, just to send the bike on its side. He didn’t, but he did make a point of squealing the tires as he sped away.

“He’s in a good mood today,” Asta observed.

“He’s a jerk,” Mimosa replied behind gritted teeth.

Asta scratched the back of his head. “Well, maybe not as much as he used to be.”

“All of the Silvas are jerks,” Magna argued. “I mean, except Noelle. It’s hard to believe you and her are related to someone like that.”

Kahono’s eyebrows disappeared beneath her bangs. Mimosa and Noelle were related? Oh, this was bad. She hoped two things – one, that Mimosa got over this crush on Asta, and two, that Noelle never found out that Mimosa had a crush in the first place.

“I don’t know,” Asta said. “Noelle did say your bike was pretty lame.”

“And she has since come to appreciate this fine piece of machinery since then,” Magna reminded him. “Let me remind you that GDA stands for…” he trailed off as he glanced over at Mimosa.

Kiato’s car pulled up to the curb, in the same spot recently vacated by Solid.

Kahono turned to Mimosa. “Ready to go?” she asked. If she could think of someone that had anything in common with Mimosa, perhaps she could casually talk him up in the car and let Mimosa know that there were other fish in the sea. Fish that were more likely to be interested in Mimosa, and less likely to create a rift between her and Noelle.

 _Noelle._ Monday, Kahono would worry about lighting a fire under her friend. Luckily for Noelle, Asta hadn’t seemed interested in anyone yet, but that girl seriously had to step up her game.


	3. Junior Year (spring)

Their table – a large one that was actually four tables pushed together – was in the corner, but the group, primarily Clover High students and alumni, was loud. Asta by himself could draw attention, but add the bickering between Magna and Luck, both close to graduating from their respective programs, Kiato’s awkward compliments to Noelle, and Finral’s incessant flirting whenever the waitress stopped at their table to check on them, and Kahono was surprised they hadn’t been kicked out yet.

She rested her elbow on the table and stared at Noelle, who was seated between Asta and Kiato. Kiato had only been planning on dropping Kahono off at the restaurant, but then he’d spied Noelle standing outside, arms crossed as she waited for Asta to open the door for her, and he’d turned to his sister and explained that he’d decided to stay; since there would be other adults in attendance, he wouldn’t be the weird creepy guy who couldn’t move on from high school.

With Kiato’s long-time crush on Noelle, which was a surprise in itself, Kahono suspected that he would have come up with another reason to invite himself, but he was right about not being the creepy older guy; in fact, he was younger than most of them. This was a reunion for many of them as well as a premature graduation celebration. Not only would Magna and Luck have their associate’s degrees or certificates or whatever they’d earned in trade school, Gauche and Charmy were also graduating from college this year. Gauche had completed his degree requirements in three years instead of four, and Charmy had attended an extra year, taking a number of pastry electives for her culinary arts degree. This restaurant, in fact, had been Charmy’s choice, and one simply didn’t argue with that woman when it came to food.

One also did not keep that woman waiting. Charmy had devoured whatever appetizer she’d ordered while waiting for everyone to arrive, and she was now looking around desperate for their waitress to come and take their order. That was until Asta mentioned something about his brother. From what Kahono had seen, Yuno was the only person that could compete with food for Charmy’s attention. He was either as oblivious to Charmy’s interest as Asta was to Noelle’s or he was simply feigning ignorance to avoid drama.

He was so unlike his brother that way. Asta didn’t seek drama, but it certainly had a way of finding him.

There was a bit of commotion at Asta’s end of the table. Their waitress had arrived, a young woman with red hair and a dusting of freckles, and Charmy’s attention was back to food as quickly as it had turned to Yuno. The waitress was obviously used to Charmy’s rapid-fire ordering and the questions about the day’s specials, answering her questions easily and filling the entire page with just Charmy’s order. The waitress flipped to the next page before moving to Kiato, who knew what he liked and ordered without even opening the menu. Then the waitress reached Noelle, pen poised to take her order.

Noelle’s fingers were curled around her water glass so hard, Kahono was surprised it didn’t shatter. Asta was in full conversational mode with the waitress, who he greeted as Rebecca. He asked about Rebecca’s brothers and sisters and invited her to join them when her shift was over since she was graduating, too. That’s when Noelle stabbed him in the side with her fork.

“Oh, sorry, Noelle,” he apologized. “You still have to order.” Oblivious, as always.

Seated on Asta’s other side was Grey, who was wringing her hands anxiously. She looked across the table at Gauche, pleading with her eyes for him to step in and say something, but he was busy swiping through his phone. She looked over at Asta and Noelle again, and took a deep breath.

“So, um, how’s Marie?” she asked, so quietly that the only reason Kahono could hear her was because she was paying close attention.

Grey’s words had the desired effect, though, because Gauche turned his phone around and practically shoved it in Grey’s face. “This picture was taken earlier today. Asta can’t see it, though.”

Asta’s attention swung from Noelle and Rebecca to the phone. “Aww, why not?”

It was a familiar argument between them, and Kahono’s gaze returned to Rebecca, who was standing there looking fondly at Asta while Noelle glared daggers at her.

Kahono bit back a frown. First Mimosa, now Rebecca? Asta was more interested in seeing the more recent photo of Marie, his interest in Rebecca forgotten for the moment. He’d mentioned her siblings; knowing Asta, his interest in Rebecca was at least partly because of her family. It still put a new wrinkle in things. Three years ago, Kahono had merely been hopeful that her friends would get together; now she was invested.

With the last of their exams, they were now officially seniors, and the first football game of the season was just a few months away. Noelle had no interest in football, but she was definitely interested in one of the players. Kahono was sure she’d be able to convince her to go to the game, where Noelle would not only have a perfect excuse to watch Asta to her heart’s content, she’d also avoid running into Mimosa or Rebecca.

Kahono paled and pulled out her phone, calling up the football schedule. She let out a sigh of relief to see that Clover wouldn’t be facing Golden Dawn until later in the season. It wasn’t impossible that they’d run into Mimosa there, but it wasn’t likely, either.

“You’re such an ignorasta!” Noelle exploded.

“Hey! Don’t call me an igno…ignar…hey, that was a new one, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Charmy said, reaching past Kiato and Noelle to pat Asta on the cheek. “Now will you all order so we can eat?”

With that, Rebecca moved to Grey, and Asta was still defending himself to Noelle. Kahono smiled. Senior year was the year that something was going to happen; she just knew it. And if it didn’t, it was time for her to take a more active role in making sure it did.


	4. Senior year (fall)

Kahono didn’t see the appeal of watching sports on television, but she could see the appeal in attending a game in person. It was like the difference between watching a singer on television versus in concert; there was an energy at a live performance, a sense of community and shared excitement with the other audience members. It was very much like that now; although Kahono didn’t understand all the ins and outs of the game, she could still cheer along with the crowd at the appropriate times. Noelle was less enthusiastic, keeping her hands in her coat pockets and appearing completely disinterested in the game – but only in the game. It was obvious to Kahono that Noelle was very interested in the quarterback; her eyes remained trained on him whether he was running across the field with the ball tucked under his arm, wildly gesturing to one of his teammates, or declaring to the opposing team that Clover would score the next touchdown. Kahono suspected the audience – no, not the audience, the fans – normally wouldn’t be able to hear anything shouted on the football field, but Asta was louder than most.

At halftime, Kahono turned to Noelle. “Asta is on fire, don’t you think?”

“He seems to know what he’s doing,” Noelle admitted.

As if aware someone was talking about him, Asta happened to glance over at them. “Noelle!” he bellowed, He jogged over to the fence separating the bleachers from the field. “And Kahono! I didn’t expect to see you guys here!”

“I had to see what this was all about at least once before we graduate,” Noelle said, tipping her nose up slightly. “Don’t expect me to do this again or anything.”

Did Asta look disappointed, or was Kahono just hoping he did? Maybe he’d declare that he hoped she’d change her mind, or that he’d do all he could to convince her to attend next time, too.

A huge grin split his face. “Well, I’m glad you guys are here today. Magna said there was no way I’d make it to halftime without being tackled, and now you can both tell him I did!”

Nope, not disappointed. Still, he’d noticed Noelle, and he’d made an immediate beeline in her direction, so there was that.

“Asta!” a voice bellowed. “Stop flirting and get your skinny ass back over here!”

“Sorry, Coach Yami!” Asta yelled over his shoulder. He turned back to Noelle and Kahono. “Maybe I’ll see you guys after the game.” He gave them a wave as he ran back to his team.

“Flirting,” she scoffed. “Like Stupidsta would even know how. Not that I care or anything.”

Kahono bit back a smile. “He isn’t skinny, either, but I guess everyone is small next to Mr. Sukehiro.”

The smile was even harder to contain when she saw Noelle checking out Asta’s not-skinny backside. At least that’s what she assumed Noelle was watching because Asta had his back to them. As if he could feel Noelle’s eyes on him, he turned back around and waved one more time before combing his hair back with his fingers and pulling his helmet on.

“If anything’s skinny, it’s his brain,” Noelle said, folding her arms over her chest.

It was cute the way she tried to come up with an insult when Asta wasn’t even around to hear it. If she was trying to convince Kahono she had no interest, she was about four years too late. There was also the way Noelle’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the top of the fence whenever Asta had the ball and ran toward the goal posts, avoiding contact with players on the other team. He was fast and agile, and she and Noelle cheered with everyone else (at least those who were there for the home team) when he scored another touchdown as the clock ran out on the third quarter.

Kahono glanced at the scoreboard. Clover was in the lead for now, but all it would take was for the Orcas to score a touchdown of their own to tie, and then it would be anyone’s game.

One of the Orcas threw a pass, one that Asta leapt in the air to catch. It was an impressive interception, but unfortunately as Asta’s feet left the ground, one of the Orcas, one of the many hulking players who dwarfed Asta, ran in to block him. He made contact with Asta’s midsection at just the right angle, and Asta flipped over and landed on his back, still clutching the ball to his chest.

Mr. Sukehiro was on the field in an instant, bending over Asta’s prone body and talking to him for a few seconds before motioning for one of the other players to approach. Together, they got Asta to his feet, and the crowd cheered again when Asta raised the football in the air. Asta leaned heavily on his coach until they reached a bench, and Asta’s grip on the ball didn’t relax until he was seated. He’d barely removed his helmet when a woman in a white coat came running over, tipping his head back and shining a light in his eyes.

Once it was clear that Asta wasn’t going to expire on the spot, the game resumed. The woman in white put her light in one of her pockets, and then took out a stethoscope from another pocket to listen to his heart.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kahono could see Noelle wringing her hands, a sure sign that she was worried.

The examination continued as the young medic ran her fingers over Asta’s shoulders, his back, and his arms. Kahono’s medical training began and ended with the CPR class she’d taken a couple of years ago, but it seemed like the medic was doing quite a bit of touching in areas that Kahono hadn’t even thought were affected. Perhaps she was making sure there was no damage radiating from the impact; Asta had hit the ground pretty hard.

At least that’s what she thought until she could hear bits and pieces of the woman’s running monologue. Rather than sounding concerned, she seemed ecstatic, lifting one of Asta’s arms and tracing over his muscles. She moved to stand behind him and smoothed her hands over his shoulders, her face clearly indicating how impressed she was with his width.

Kahono was so focused on this strange woman that she hadn’t noticed Noelle vaulting over the fence until she was running toward Asta and his caretaker.

“Oh, hi!” the woman greeted loudly. She moved one of her hands over Asta’s shoulder and down his chest. “Have you seen this? He’s grown so much bigger!”

Noelle grabbed the woman by the wrist and lifted her hand away from Asta.

“Don’t be like that,” the woman said.

Kahono couldn’t hear what Noelle said in response, but Mr. Sukehiro was standing behind Asta and the woman.

“Sally, what are you doing here?” he asked.

“Yami Sukehiro!” she exclaimed, whirling around to run her fingers over the coach’s biceps. “The invitation is still open for you, too, you know!”

He pointed his finger toward the bleachers, and she laughed. “Don’t you want to know how he’s doing?”

Mr. Sukehiro said something to her, and she gave an exaggerated shrug as if to say, _well, I tried._

“You’re fine, Asta,” she chirped. _“Very_ fine, if I say so myself. Don’t forget you owe me!” She turned and walked away, her coat billowing behind her.

“He doesn’t owe you!” Noelle yelled after her before sitting next to Asta. She leaned toward him and said something Kahono couldn’t hear. Asta nodded, and then Noelle froze as Mr. Sukehiro’s hand came down on her shoulder.

Noelle turned her head slowly and looked up. He pointed at the bleachers, like he’d done with Sally, only this time in the direction where Kahono was standing. Noelle nodded and started to get to her feet when Asta grabbed her arm, craned his neck, and said something to her. Whatever it was, Noelle yanked her arm away and pushed at Asta’s head, nearly snapping it off his neck, before heading toward the space in the fence that allowed her to return to Kahono as if she was returning from the rest room and not the playing field.

She didn’t say a word to Kahono, just returned to the spot she’d recently vacated, gripping the top of the fence just as tightly as she’d done before.

“Who’s Sally?” Kahono asked.

“A psychotic biology major who was Asta’s lab partner last year. She wants to use him as a test subject for a paper she’s writing.”

“I see,” Kahono replied. She didn’t see, but clearly the past interaction was a sore spot. She was just glad, as was Noelle, that Asta seemed to be suffering no ill effects of his injury.

“We should probably stay,” Noelle said softly. “To make sure he doesn’t have brain injury. I mean, we’d know better than anyone if he’s acting his normal stupid or if there’s something _actually_ wrong with his brain.”

“Of course,” Kahono agreed.

Asta was back in the game a minute later, and he didn’t seem any worse for wear. Apparently, Sally had found a spot in the bleachers just across from them, and she waved wildly as Asta returned to the field. Kahono could practically feel Noelle bristling next to her.

Noelle clearly had even more competition when it came to Asta. It was getting ridiculous at this point. On the other hand, Noelle had acted without thinking, vaulting over the fence purely on instinct to save Asta from this newest rival. This wasn’t at all how Kahono wanted to light a fire under her friend, and she would have much preferred Asta not getting injured, but something had changed.

There was hope for them yet.


	5. Senior year (winter)

Of all places to encounter yet another rival, a college fair was probably the last place Kahono would have expected. Of course, she hadn’t expected it at swim practice, either, but here they were.

The problem was that in addition to the representatives from the various colleges, there were so many volunteers, many of them former Clover students or college students helping to set up the tables or handing out folders that contained an itemized list of all the colleges and trade schools along with a map of the gymnasium showing where each school’s table was. The young man who handed Noelle her folder was the first one that had caused momentary concern. He was an overly confident alumnus and a braggart with an annoying laugh. He’d hit on both Noelle and Kahono, but he’d winced when Asta, who was behind them and whose height kept him partially hidden from sight, recognized him and greeted him on sight, with his typical enthusiasm, thumping the recent graduate on the back and calling him multiple variations of _Ha-ha_ and _Ho-ha_ , nicknames that the other young man didn’t appreciate at all. The important thing was that, unlike Kiato, Ho-ha didn’t seem particularly fixated on Noelle, so Kahono dismissed him as a threat very quickly.

Then there was the fiery, energetic redhead, who was handing out pins and pencils with golden lions embossed on them – the college mascot, Kahono assumed. He dropped what he was doing – literally, the swag falling to the table as he draped his arm around Asta’s shoulders. Kahono hadn’t even considered that maybe Asta wasn’t so much oblivious as he was interested in the opposite sex. Those concerns, too, were unfounded, because not only was Noelle completely unthreatened by their interaction, she greeted him warmly as well, causing the redhead to hug her and ask if she was interested in signing up for the school’s mailing list.

“My brother would be furious,” she murmured, and with that, she scribbled down her name and email address with a flourish.

Asta had picked up a couple of pencils that had fallen to the floor, but the redhead shook his head. “Keep them.”

“Really?” Asta asked. From his reaction, one would think he’d been offered the moon.

“That’s what they’re here for, birdbrain,” Noelle sniffed.

“Oh, cool!” Asta looked at the two pencils in his fist before handing one to Noelle, who was blushing as if he’d given her a bouquet of roses.

The redhead handed one to Kahono as well, and she slipped it into the pocket of the folder she held. He was cute, but Noelle didn’t seem to notice, all her attention on the pencil in her hand.

“See you later, Leo,” Asta waved as they left that table.

“Who was that?” Kahono asked.

“Leopold Vermillion,” Noelle replied. “His brother is Nozel’s best friend.”

“Vermillion, as in…the university?” Kahono asked.

Noelle nodded, but anything she might have offered beyond that was interrupted by Asta.

“You should have seen him on the football field,” he gushed, making Kahono wonder again if her friend had any chance at all because she was a woman. “He was incredible; he could really run.”

“So can you!” Noelle protested. “I mean, that’s what I’ve heard. I don’t believe it for a minute.”

“Thanks to Leo. I had to really push myself to challenge him. He’s my rival.”

Kahono let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

 _“Yuno’s_ your rival,” Noelle reminded him.

“Yeah! _And_ Leo! And Leo’s brother, too!”

“None of the people you mentioned are playing high school football.”

“Neither is Yuno, and Leo’s playing for the Crimson Lions, so maybe we’ll play against them when I’m in college.”

“What if you end up going to Vermillion U?” Kahono asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Asta said, stroking his chin. “I hadn’t thought of that. Well, then, even better! We’ll just keep pushing each other to get stronger!”

“As if you’d get into VU with your grades,” Noelle sniffed.

“Hey! My grades aren’t _that_ bad!”

“They’re not that _good,_ either!”

Their bickering made Kahono smile. Leopold Vermillion might be Asta’s rival, but he wasn’t Noelle’s. Still, though, it did present Kahono with the question of Asta’s interests. Maybe he wasn’t interested in Leopold, but he’d never shown any interest in the women who were much more open about their attraction to him. If he had a type, one would think that Mimosa, Rebecca, or Sally might tick off some of the boxes. It was also possible that Asta was asexual. Where most of the boys in high school had obvious crushes, and some made crude, objectifying comments about women, Asta had never shown the slightest interest in anyone. Kahono wanted to believe it was because he hadn’t yet realized that Noelle was right there in front of him, but there was no guarantee that Asta was straight.

She felt a little deflated after that; not because Asta might be gay – because even if he was, he was still Asta, and she’d still adore him whether he was interested in Noelle or women or anyone or no one – but because she’d made an assumption about his sexuality based on an expectation. It was even worse because although Noelle had referred to Leo’s brother as Nozel’s _best friend,_ Kahono could remember a few times when Noelle had started to say another word that began with B before catching herself.

Did her friends think she was narrow minded? If she did find out that Asta was interested in men, then Kahono would do her best to find him the best boyfriend that ever lived, and she’d be there for Noelle, too. Unless Noelle already knew, and that’s why she was vehemently denying her feelings for Asta.

Perhaps Kahono’s plans for the prom were going to need serious revision.

It was near the end of the evening, when the college fair had ended and tables were being folded up, that the answer to Asta’s sexuality appeared in the form of the biggest obstacle yet.

“Sister Lily!” Asta shouted from across the gymnasium. He raced over to a young nun who was standing near the exit doors surrounded by several children ranging in age from elementary to middle school. One of the youngest was wearing a too large T-shirt with Hage Community College emblazoned on the front.

“Hey, Nash,” Asta said, reaching up to ruffle the hair of the oldest of the bunch, a teen or preteen who was a couple of inches taller than Asta.

Nash jerked his head away, embarrassed. His blush deepened when he noticed Kahono there.

“Oh! You haven’t met Kahono yet. Kahono,” Asta boomed, “Nash. Nash, Kahono.”

Kahono smiled and extended her hand. She expected a firm handshake, but Nash lifted her hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles.

“Pleased to meet you,” he murmured. His gentlemanly behavior ended there, because Asta bumped into him, trying to carry one of the folding tables outside by himself, and he grabbed one end of it, muttering about Asta always trying to impress someone and how you’d think by now Asta would get it through his head that she wasn’t interested in him.

Kahono glanced over at Noelle, whose face was bright red. This was very interesting indeed.

“I, um, I have to use the ladies’ room!” Noelle blurted out, and she practically ran in the other direction.

Once everything was put away in the shed outside, Nash and Asta returned to the school. Nash leaned his elbow against the brick building.

“Hey,” he said, giving a little lift of his chin. “You doing anything later?”

Kahono pointed to herself, and Nash nodded.

“Are you…asking me on a date?” Kahono leaned forward to whisper, in case she was misinterpreting his question and also to avoid embarrassing him if she wasn’t.

He nodded.

“You seem like a very nice young man,” Kahono said, “but I’m way too old for you.”

“Ha!” Nash said, standing up straight and turning to Asta. “Hear that, Asta? She said she’s _too old_ for me.”

“That’s because she is!” Asta shouted, even though he was standing only a few feet away.

Kahono wasn’t sure if she should feel insulted.

“We’re only…” Nash turned to Kahono. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“We’re only four years apart. _Four!”_ he repeated, holding up that number of fingers. “That’s way less than eleven!”

“My love for Sister Lily cannot be discouraged that easily!”

“If you ever got married, would you call her Sister Lily on your honeymoon?” Nash scoffed.

“When we’re married, I’ll call her Lily. Not until then.”

“Asta,” a soft voice said from behind them. “As I’ve told you, I’m not marrying you.”

“But Sister Lily, I’ll be eighteen next year.”

She touched him gently on the shoulder. “And you’ll still be like a son to me.”

“You’re not old enough to be my mother!” Asta protested. “You would have been only…” he started counting on his fingers. “Eleven when I was born.”

“You didn’t need to count, Asta, I told you it was eleven years.”

“Nash,” Sister Lily said sternly. “Thank you for helping. Please wait in the car with the others and make sure they stay out of trouble.”

“Asta’s the one who broke the window crank,” Nash muttered, but he did what he was told.

“Asta,” she said gently. She held up one finger. “First, you know I cannot marry. I took a vow, and I take that vow very seriously.”

“I know, but Sister…”

“And,” she said, adding a second finger and silencing him more than Kahono had ever seen anyone do with so little effort. “I love you, Asta, but not the way you want me to. I may be too young to be your mother, so if you can’t think of me that way, then think of me as your older sister.”

Asta shook his head. “I’ll wait for you forever,” he declared.

Sister Lily seemed to notice Kahono for the first time. “Oh,” she said, her face flushing. “I’m so sorry.”

Kahono smiled at her. “It’s quite all right,” she said brightly. “We’re just waiting for Noelle.”

“Oh, yeah,” Asta said, looking around. “Where’d she go, anyway?”

“She’s in the ladies’ room. She shouldn’t be long.”

“Unless she’s taking a dump. Coach Yami can spend an entire afternoon in the bathroom.”

Sister Lily shook her head. “Asta, I trust you will make sure that Noelle and…” she looked at Kahono questioningly.

“Oh, that’s Kahono,” Asta said. “I thought you’d met already.”

The nun extended her hand, giving Kahono a firm handshake. Kahono supposed dealing with children like Nash and Asta required a pretty firm hand.

“I assume you will make sure that Noelle and Kahono arrive home safely, Asta.”

Asta puffed up his chest. “Of course, Sister Lily.”

“I expect you home by nine. You do have school tomorrow, and I’m sure you have homework to finish.”

“Yes, Sister Lily. I’ll be there!”

When Sister Lily departed, Asta let out a breath. “I’ll wear her down eventually,” he said quietly. Kahono wasn’t sure if he was talking to her or to himself.

He turned suddenly, looking over Kahono’s shoulder. “Hey, Noelle! Ready to go?”

Kahono hadn’t even heard Noelle approach. It was a little eerie that Asta had.

“I was ready ages ago.” Noelle flicked one of her ponytails behind her shoulder.

“Oh, I wasn’t sure, because I thought maybe you were tak-” he turned abruptly to Kahono, who had tripped and fallen. “Let me help you up,” he offered, reaching out his hand.

Kahono managed to grab Noelle’s sleeve as well, forcing them both to grab one of her arms in order to lift her off the floor. She experimentally rotated her ankle, forcing a wince that she hoped was believable.

“Why don’t you two go without me? I’ll call my brother to come pick me up.”

“You need a ride?” a vaguely familiar voice said from behind them.

“Hey, Leo,” Asta said. His face didn’t light up as much as it had earlier.

“Asta,” Leopold said with a nod of acknowledgement. He turned to Kahono. “Seriously, _do_ you need a ride? They’re all packed up, and I was just getting ready to leave.” He glanced apologetically at Noelle and Asta. “Are you two okay walking home? My car’s a two-seater.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Asta said. “I was planning on that anyway. Noelle?”

Noelle looked torn, but she crossed her arms and lifted her chin. “I suppose I’d better go with you to make sure you don’t fall down a manhole or something.”

“One time,” Asta protested. “That happened one time!”

“Twice,” Leopold interjected.

“No, the second time it was a storm drain,” Asta explained.

“Let’s go, Stupidsta, before I change my mind and make you find your way home alone.”

They were still bickering as they left, and Kahono took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“I can’t believe they’re still dancing around each other,” Leopold said.

Kahono looked up in surprise.

“What?” he said with a grin. “We went to football camp together. It was always ‘Noelle this’ and ‘Noelle that.’” He looked over at Kahono’s ankle. “You’re not really injured, are you?”

“No,” Kahono said, biting back a smile.

“I should probably give you a ride anyway. If you’d like. In case Asta or Noelle ask about it later or notice that we didn’t leave together.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“OK, let’s go,” Leopold said, and he swept Kahono up into his arms.

“You don’t need to carry me,” Kahono laughed.

“Don’t I?” Leopold asked, nodding toward the parking lot, where Noelle and Asta were standing under one of the lamp posts talking. “That’s my car, right next to them.”

“Oh.”

He made holding her seem effortless until he started walking, and then he staggered slightly.

“It might be easier if you put your arms around me, to keep your weight closer to my center of gravity.”

“Right, sure,” Kahono agreed. It wasn’t unpleasant; Leopold smelled of salon shampoo and expensive cologne.

Leopold tripped over a bit of broken pavement just outside the school, and Kahono tightened her arms around his neck, causing him to make a little choking noise.

“I’m so sorry!” she apologized. “You can put me down now.”

“At the car,” he insisted. “This is for love.”

Kahono knew what he meant, and she wholeheartedly agreed, but his words still made her grow warm. Then again, it was rather humid outside.

“You haven’t left yet?” Asta asked as Leopold set Kahono gently on her feet. She remembered to put most of her weight on one foot and hoped it wasn’t the one she’d pretended she’d injured.

“I could say the same for you two,” the redhead pointed out. He opened the passenger door and gestured inside with a bow. “My lady,” he said with a grin.

As she slid into the seat, Kahono would swear she heard Noelle complain to Asta that _he_ never addressed _her_ that way and that he should probably start. And then Leo was in the driver’s seat next to Kahono, slamming the door shut. He leaned over Kahono slightly, looking over at the couple outside.

“Makes you want to shove their faces together and get it over with, doesn’t it?” he asked.

Kahono watched them together, the way Noelle held herself physically close but emotionally distant, and the way Asta made large, sweeping gestures as he talked.

“Yes,” she said. She turned to Leopold, just as he was shifting the car into gear. “I know this is kind of out of the blue, but I don’t suppose you’d be interested in going to my senior prom with me?”


	6. Senior year (Prom season)

Operation _Get-Noelle-and-Asta-Together_ was not off to a great start.

To begin with, it took Asta forever to even ask Noelle to go, and even then, he didn’t so much ask her as announce one day, when Noelle dropped yet another hint, that he’d just assumed they’d be going together. Because they already did everything together, and why was Noelle so upset, anyway, geez?

Then there was Noelle’s mini-freak-out over her dress. Kahono assured her that the periwinkle gown she’d bought after spending an entire afternoon trying on dresses was perfect for her coloring, and it emphasized the purple tones in her eyes, but if Noelle really wanted to go with the classic black dress, she’d look great in that, too. (Crisis averted when Noelle turned the tables on Kahono, selecting an emerald green that would look great not only on Kahono, but also next to Leopold, which wasn’t a factor that Kahono would have ever considered. Think of the photographs, Noelle had pointed out, and Kahono had to agree that green would complement Leopold as well.)

The next hurdle was how they were getting there. There should have been no question that Noelle not only wanted a limousine, she expected one, but Asta assumed Leopold would be taking Kahono in his Miata, so he suggested borrowing Magna’s motorcycle for him and Noelle, which earned him a solid punch in the arm. (They rented a limo, courtesy of the Silva family coffers, for the trip to the banquet hall, with Leopold assuring them via group text that his family would provide them all with transportation home if needed.)

And all of this was going while there were essays and projects to submit and finals to study for. Leopold, who’d completed his freshman year of college, was no longer constrained by the demands of the school calendar, and Kahono was grateful for his friendship with Asta, who, according to one of his messages in the group chat, had asked Yuno for help with the whole tux thing only to be told to figure it out himself.

It was because Yuno was a goddamn asshole, Luck had cheerfully interjected at lunch the next day, his voice muffled by a fingerful of pudding. He’d swiped the cup off Asta’s tray the moment it touched the table.

“Why are you here?” Noelle asked. “They’re going to throw you out if they realize you snuck in here.”

“Nope,” Luck said, swirling his finger around the cup again. “I’m here to test the lighting in the gym.”

“For the prom,” Asta added.

“No, Asta, not for the prom,” Noelle said, smacking his arm with the back of her hand.

“Nope,” Luck agreed. “Not for the prom.”

“We’re holding the prom in the dark?”

“Yep.” Luck grinned. “In the dark. Gives you ideas, doesn’t it?”

Asta frowned, and then his face lit up. “Like a haunted house theme!”

Luck laughed. “That would be pretty cool! I wish we’d done that when I was a senior.”

“Would you not encourage him?” Noelle said, snatching the cup from Luck’s hand, earning an _aww_ and a puppy dog look that didn’t sway Noelle one bit.

“The prom is at the banquet hall, remember?” Kahono asked. “Because the lighting has been flickering on and off in the gym.”

“Yeah, I noticed that,” Asta said. “Coach Yami was so annoyed, he threw a basketball at the wall and popped it.”

“Speaking of the gym lighting, I’d better go,” Luck said, leaning between Asta and Noelle and swiping one more glob of pudding onto his finger. “Later!” he said with a wave.

“He shouldn’t have said that,” Asta said. “Yuno might give me a hard time, but he’s not a…what Luck called him.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ what GDA stands for!” Kahono exclaimed, remembering a long-ago comment from Magna. He’d been referring to Solid Silva at the time. She slapped her hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Asta, I didn’t mean to insult your brother. Or yours,” she added, turning to Noelle.

“Any names that someone wants to call Solid are his own fault,” Noelle said, taking a sip of her juice.

Asta shrugged. “I know Luck doesn’t hate Yuno. It’s just…he used the Lord’s name in vain. I wish he wouldn’t. Sister Lily wouldn’t like it. Neither would Father,” he added as an afterthought.

Kahono felt a flicker of unease. Asta wasn’t a deeply religious person, and she got the impression that Yuno wasn’t, either, but they were both raised by a priest and a nun, in a foster home sponsored by the church. It made perfect sense that he’d view _goddamn_ as a more grievous offense than some of the more common four letter words, but she couldn’t help wondering if it was the church’s teaching or the woman who’d helped raise him that was the root of his unease with that particular curse. Then she felt guilty; it was only because she’d recently learned that Asta was harboring a decade long crush on a nun, a woman he was absolutely convinced he’d marry, that Kahono even questioned Asta’s discomfort.

“You can always do penance for him,” Noelle suggested.

“That’s not how penance works!”

“I still think you should do it. Just in case.”

“What if I fill a super soaker with holy water and challenge Luck to a duel?” he asked, excitement creeping into his voice. “Then when I hit him with it, boom, sins forgiven.”

“Sure,” Noelle replied, waving her plastic fork around before stabbing it into the lone grape tomato in her salad.

Kahono knew it didn’t work that way at all, but it was kind of cute how Noelle wanted to reassure Asta that his friend’s soul wasn’t in danger. At least that’s how she wanted to view it; Noelle had an exasperated fondness for Luck Voltia, who, like Asta, was a lot to take, full of over-the-top energy and a desire to fight at the drop of a hat. His manic behavior was probably why he didn’t have a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend. Because Luck was admittedly pretty hot if you were into blonds, which Kahono wasn’t.

Her phone buzzed, and she picked it up, smiling at the message displayed on her screen.

“Leopold will help you with your tux,” she told Asta.

Noelle picked her phone up, too, to check the group chat. “You need to text him directly,” she told Asta.

“Oh, sure. I’ll do that.”

“Here,” Noelle said, reaching into her purse and holding out a swatch of silk in lavender-blue.

“Thanks,” Asta said, reaching up to his shoulder with it. “I think Luck dropped some pudding on me.”

“That’s not a napkin!” Noelle snapped, snatching back the two-inch-by-two-inch square before it made contact with the chocolate.

“Then what is it?” Asta asked, picking up one of the paper napkins to wipe at the stain instead.

“It’s for you to pick out your cummerbund.”

“Like the gas station?”

“Cummerbund, not Cumberland. You’re such a…dummerbund!”

“Is that a thing?”

 _Please explain a cummerbund to Asta when you see him,_ Kahono texted Leopold.

 _No prob,_ he replied, almost immediately. _Corsage, too?_

“Idiotsta,” Noelle said, slapping Asta with the dirty napkin the moment he set it down.

“Now I know _that’s_ not a thing. That’s one of those words you make up using my name. You know, Noelle, none of those names are very nice.”

 _Yes, please,_ Kahono typed, _and anything else you think he needs to know._

His final reply was a simple thumbs up emoji, and Kahono sighed with relief.

“Tell Leo I said hi,” Asta said.

“Tell him yourself,” Noelle said, jabbing him with her elbow. “You’re supposed to be texting him directly. Outside the group chat.”

“Why do we have to get all dressed up for this, anyway? You’d think if we’re celebrating the end of high school, we’d want to be comfortable.”

“It’s tradition,” Noelle replied.

Asta, who was known for challenging the status quo, surprised both of them by nodding. “Like a wedding.”

Noelle choked on the bite of salad she’d just put in her mouth, and Asta thumped her on the back a few times until she coughed out a half-eaten bite of cucumber.

“I wasn’t choking,” she said, her voice sounding a little hoarse.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” Asta said. He touched his finger and thumb to Noelle’s chin and turned her head to face him. “You ok?”

Noelle nodded. Her red face could be because she _had_ been choking, but Kahono doubted it.

“Yes. You didn’t need to do that, but thank you.”

Asta rubbed her back, just a few circles, where he’d been pounding his palm a minute earlier.

“Hey, Noelle,” he said, pointing at the spewed vegetable. “Know what that is?”

Noelle hurriedly covered it with another napkin, her face an even brighter shade of red.

“It’s a cucumberbund.”

Noelle shoved at his shoulder, but with much less force than usual. Kahono itched to text Leopold, but there was really nothing to tell him. It was just…

She had hope, she decided. Cummerbund or not, corsage or not, she had hope for them yet.

* * *

Asta was going to die, here and now, before ever attaining adulthood.

Things had started off ok. Leopold had come over to the church first. He’d helped with the bowtie, which Asta had realized too late wasn’t a clip-on. He supposed it had been kind of dumb of him to assume that, but it didn’t bother him. It was worth it to see Sister Lily clasp her hands and brush her fingers over Asta’s lapel. Leo was more than happy to indulge Sister Lily and Father as they took way too many photos, and then the limo took them to pick up Kahono first.

“Wow,” he heard Leo say as he got out of the car.

Kahono did look great all dressed up, and then it was another round of photos to be taken by Kahono’s father and grandfather. Asta thought they were nearly done, but Kiato patted him on the back and gestured toward Leopold and Kahono.

“You, too,” he insisted, and after a few more photos of the three of them, they were on their way to Noelle’s. Her family lived closest to the country club or whatever place the prom was being held at.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had my picture taken this much,” Asta said. “Not even when the newspaper ran that story on the football team.”

“I was in that photo, too,” Leo said, lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back against the seat.

“I know! Father Orsi has it cut out and hanging on the wall of his office.”

 _“You_ know,” Leo said, “but not everyone here does.”

“Oh! Sorry, Kahono, I didn’t mean to leave you out.”

Kahono leaned forward slightly and smiled at him warmly. Asta could see the hint of white petals in her hair, the same color as the rose pinned in Leo’s jacket. A _button ear,_ Leo had called it. Asta glanced down at his own. He hoped it was the right color. He didn’t much care, but Noelle would. She was all about the fancy stuff and things being just so.

It was kind of remarkable that they were friends to begin with, let alone after all these years.

“It’s fine, Asta. I’m not much of a football fan. The game we saw you at was the first and last time I’ve been to one.”

“Sister Lily isn’t much of a fan, either. She’s afraid I’ll get hurt or something. Oh, we’re here,” he announced. Asta pressed his nose up against the window, looking for any sign of Noelle. “She’s not out there.”

“She’s waiting for you to go to the door,” Leo said, patting him on the back. “Come on, last time for the paparazzi.”

Nozel answered the door. Asta looked up at the older man, who was staring down his nose at him as he usually did whenever Asta came over. He was an alright guy once you got to know him, but man, he’d scared the crap out of Asta the first few times he’d been to Noelle’s.

“Noelle,” Nozel called over his shoulder without raising his voice. “Your date is here.”

“This isn’t actually a – oh, wow. Wow,” Asta repeated as Noelle descended the stairs.

It was a little like a movie, the way Noelle took one step at a time. All that was missing was some kind of pop or alternative music, the kind Magna pretended he hated, playing in the background. He looked at Nozel again. Did Nozel listen to that kind of stuff? He hadn’t really thought about it before.

He could hear Noelle stomping down the last few steps, and he promptly forgot about what music Nozel did or didn’t like.

“You look beautiful,” he told her, because she did.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear – how it escaped the fancy hair knot on her head, Asta had no idea – and her eyes surveyed him from the top of his head to the tips of his shoes.

“You look handsome as well.”

Nozel sighed and motioned them out the door. “If you want me to take any photos, line up. I don’t have all night, and neither do you.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Asta said, standing next to Noelle and putting an arm around her waist. She flinched suddenly, and he lifted his hand.

“I’m sorry, was I not supposed to?”

She grabbed his hand and planted it firmly on her hip, where it had been in the first place. Nozel took exactly two photos, both outside, in front of their fancy garden, and then two more with Leo and Kahono before waving them on their way.

“Tell Fuego not to wait up,” Leo said with a wave, just before the door closed behind him.

“What’s that all about?” Asta asked once they were back in the limo.

“Nozel and Fuegoleon spend every Saturday evening together,” Noelle informed him.

 _“Every_ Saturday,” Leo emphasized.

“Oooh,” Kahono said, as if she’d just figured something out.

“Am I missing something?”

“Always,” Noelle said, nudging him with her shoulder.

“Oh,” Asta said suddenly. “I almost forgot! This is for you.”

He nearly shoved the box in Noelle’s hands but caught himself just in time. He set it down on the seat next to him and removed the corsage, carefully turning it to make sure he hadn’t crushed the petals.

“Here,” he said, holding it out. “Wait.” He turned it over and tugged gently at the elastic cord. “How does this go in your hair? Like a ponytail?” He glanced at Noelle’s elaborate hairstyle doubtfully.

“That one’s a wrist corsage,” Leo supplied helpfully. “The one in Kahono’s hair has a pin.”

“Oh, of course,” Asta said. “Here, Noelle, let me…” he picked up her hand, but the angle wasn’t right. He turned her wrist over, and then tried bending her elbow. “Wait.”

He dropped to one knee in front of her. Perfect. He could slide it straight over her hand this way. It looked really pretty once it was on. Leo had done a good job helping him pick out the flowers; it looked like they’d been grown just for Noelle’s dress.

“Your knees are getting dirty,” she said.

“Oh, crap,” Asta said, sitting down as quickly as he could. “I forgot.”

Noelle didn’t say anything for nearly a minute, and then, “thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, it was L-”

He felt something nudging at his foot. Glancing down, he realized it was Leo, who gave a little shake of his head.

“I mean, you’re welcome, Noelle.” 

Leo smiled, and Asta was glad that he’d figured out what his friend was trying to tell him. The important thing was that Noelle was happy with the corsage. Things were always better when she was happy.

When they were outside the limo, Asta brushed off his knees, and he didn’t miss the way Noelle smiled, pleased that he’d remembered. He wanted to tell her she was pretty when she smiled, but there was a little voice in the back of his head, Sister Lily’s voice, actually, telling him and Yuno that they should never tell a woman that. Saying her smile was pretty was one thing, but saying she was pretty when she smiled could sound sexist and rude.

So of course, the words that came out of his mouth were the latter, and Noelle looked like a deer in the headlights.

“I mean your smile is pretty!” Asta said. “I mean _you’re_ pretty. I, mean, damn it,” he said, slapping his hand over his face in frustration.

“Asta,” Noelle said, touching his shoulder. “Are you ok?”

Asta was fine, if you didn’t count the fact that he’d completely messed up what Sister Lily had tried to drill into their heads.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“I’ve never heard you swear before,” Noelle said. “Are you _sure_ you’re ok?”

Asta lowered his arm. Kahono had once asked him what he thought of Noelle. He’d said, after some thought, that he liked Noelle; that she was really nice. _This_ was why they were friends all this time, not because he could remember a word like boutonnière.

His eyes lit up. “Boutonnière,” he said. Not button ear.

Noelle pressed the back of her hand to his forehead, and then placed both her palms against his cheeks.

“You don’t seem like you have a fever,” she said with a frown.

But the reason Asta was going to die before reaching adulthood wasn’t a suspected fever. The cause of death came half an hour later, in the form of Gauche Adlai, who spun him around by the shoulder and grabbed the front of Asta’s shirt. Asta was surprised he hadn’t heard Gauche approach, because Grey was glued to his side with a death grip on Gauche’s other hand.

“Do you know what this is?” Gauche asked through gritted teeth, yanking his hand away from Grey to dangle a bit of jewelry in front of Asta’s face.

With it as close as it was, Asta had a little trouble focusing on it. He leaned his head back as far as he could with Gauche’s grip on his shirt.

“A bracelet?” he guessed.

“A _friendship_ bracelet,” Gauche fumed. “Do you know _whose_ friendship bracelet this is?”

“Marie’s?”

“Don’t you say her name!” Gauche shouted, balling the bracelet up in his fist and pointing his finger right between Asta’s eyes. “And do you know who gave Marie this friendship bracelet?” he asked, releasing Asta’s shirt to step back just enough to make air quotes around the word ‘friendship.’

Grey moved to Gauche’s other side to seize his lowered arm. Gauche tried to pull away, but Grey was determined to keep him from grabbing Asta again. Asta appreciated that.

“No?” Asta ventured.

“Gauche!” a young voice called out from the doorway, followed by the stomping of feet and an enraged preteen girl lunging for the bracelet in her brother’s hand.

“Guys, I think we’d better take this to the hallway,” Leo suggested. He placed his hand between Asta’s shoulder blades and pushed, keeping to Asta’s back while Gauche followed them with Grey still clinging to his side and Marie still trying to pry her bracelet from his grasp.

In the hallway, Grey remained next to Gauche while Leo stepped to his other side, ready to tackle him if necessary.

“This is _your_ fault,” Gauche fumed, pointing at Asta again with the hand that held the bracelet. With his index finger extended, it gave Marie the opening she was looking for. Bracelet back in her possession, she took a few steps away to put it on her left wrist.

“How is it my fault?” Asta asked.

“Gauche, give me a minute,” Marie said, stepping between them and turning her back to her brother. She was completely calm now that she had her bracelet back.

“Asta,” she said, taking one of his hands in both of hers. Leo wrapped both his arms around Gauche’s torso in time to keep him from reaching Asta again. “I know I said I was going to marry you, but that’s when I was a kid.”

“That’s ok, Marie,” Asta squeezed one of her hands.

 _“Marie,”_ Gauche gritted out.

She turned and held one of her hands up, palm facing her brother. She turned back to Asta with a sad smile.

“We’re older now, Asta, and I’ve found someone closer to my age.”

“Tell him the rest,” said a voice as familiar to Asta as his own. He looked up to see Nash leaning against a table in the hallway.

“You’re too old for me.” Marie patted Asta’s hand kindly before dropping it.

“I’ll kill you,” Gauche hissed, but this time his words were directed at Nash.

“You and what army, old man?” Nash retorted. He walked over to Marie and put his arm around her shoulder.

Noelle cleared her throat. “Am I the only one wondering why you,” she pointed at Gauche, “and you, and you,” pointing at the two preteens, “and…” she glanced at Grey, then at Gauche, “well, I know why _you’re_ here.”

“Why _is_ she here?” Asta wondered.

“Because she doesn’t want me to kill you,” Gauche growled.

“Gauche!” Marie scolded. “That’s enough. You can’t blame Asta for this.”

“You wouldn’t even know this punk,” he jerked his head toward Nash, “if not for Asta!”

“Nash and I go to the same school!”

“Well, I can’t kill a kid,” Gauche grumbled. “You should let me kill Asta instead.”

“I’m still a kid, too!” Asta protested.

“True,” Noelle agreed. “His birthday isn’t until October.”

“I’m not done,” Marie cut in. She turned back to Asta and took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to feel bad. It’s not just that you’re too old for me, it’s that you’re more like a big brother. What I wanted as a child isn’t what I want now. I hope you understand.”

“Um, sure, yeah,” Asta said. He nodded his head toward Nash. “He’s a good one; he’ll treat you right.”

“They’re twelve!” Gauche pointed out.

“I’m almost thirteen!” Marie rounded on her brother.

“In _December!”_

“Still!” Marie said, her eyes flashing. Nash dropped his arm from around her shoulders and took her hand instead. Leo’s arms tightened around Gauche’s torso.

“I’m also supposed to tell you that they don’t want you back at our dance. Chaperones aren’t supposed to threaten the students with bodily harm.”

“Hey, Marie,” Nash said. “Can you wait for me inside? I’ll just be a minute.”

Marie glanced at Gauche, who, for the moment, wasn’t struggling to get away from Leo, and back at Nash. “Ok.”

“Save me a dance,” Nash said with a wink, and that got Gauche riled up all over again.

“You have him?” Grey asked Leo.

“I’ve got him,” Leo assured her.

She let go of Gauche’s arm and stepped in front of him.

“I’m not really going to kill him,” Gauche said, glaring at her. "I’m just going to hurt him a lit-“

His words were cut off by Grey’s mouth against his own, just a light brushing of lips. One of her hands cupped his cheek, and then she took a deep breath before turning and running out of the building.

“Damn it,” Gauche muttered. “You can let me go. I should probably go after her.”

“You good?” Leo asked.

“No, but I’m not going to touch him.”

“Asta, too?”

Gauche swore again, a lot more colorfully. “Fine, Asta, too.”

Leo let go, and Gauche stood up to his full height, staring down at Nash. “I’ve got my eye on you,” he warned, and then he ran out after Grey.

“Asta,” Nash said, throwing his arm around his foster brother. “I hope you were paying attention to what Marie was telling you.”

“She doesn’t want to marry me,” Asta grinned. “It’s cute.”

“Marie’s the same age I am.”

“It’s still cute. You can be cute no matter how old you are. Like Noelle,” he said, gesturing toward his friend. “She’s cute, and she’s almost as old as me.”

“Asta,” Nash repeated, drawing out Asta’s name. “Tell me again what Marie said.”

“She doesn’t want to marry me.”

Nash slapped Asta on the back. “That’s right. Sorry for causing all the excitement. I didn’t realize that giving my girlfriend a gift was going to be such a big deal. Later,” he said, giving a half salute on his way to the banquet room next door.

Asta saw rather than heard Kahono whisper something to Leo, and the two of them returned to the prom, leaving him in the hall with just Noelle.

“She doesn’t want to marry me,” Asta repeated.

“Of course she doesn’t,” Noelle scoffed. “She’s twelve.”

“No,” Asta said. _“She_ doesn’t want to marry me.” He blinked a few times, and then looked at Noelle. “Like, not ever.”

Noelle looked confused, and Asta reached out, gripping both her arms. “Noelle. She doesn’t want to marry me.”

“I know. You’ve said that several times now. _Who_ doesn’t want to marry you?”

“Sister Lily. Who did you think I was talking about?”

Noelle looked like she’d been slapped. Asta didn’t think he’d ever seen that expression on her face. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, and she leaned back against the same table Nash had been using earlier. The motion caused Asta’s hands to slide up her arms, coming to rest near her shoulders.

“I’m tired,” she said quietly. “I want to go home.”

“Me too,” Asta said. He dropped his hands and moved next to her to lean against the table, too. “Some senior prom, huh?”

“Mmm hmm." Noelle shook her head, then nudged Asta slightly with her shoulder.

“You do that a lot,” Asta observed.

“No, I don’t.”

“I don’t mean just the shoulder thing. I mean the punching, and the shoving, and the flicking me in the forehead. You touch me an awful lot.”

“I do not!” Noelle pushed away from the table and moved closer to the exit, covering her face with one hand.

Naturally, Asta followed her. He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and put his chin on her shoulder. She smelled pretty, like flowers, the kind that only bloomed at the very start of spring. That’s what Noelle smelled like. Spring.

“I’m not saying I hate it,” he told her.

“Shut up,” she said, her voice muffled by her hand.

“We’re already all dressed up. Do you want to dance? That’s what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it?”

“How can I resist when you ask like that?” Noelle said coldly, but she turned and put her hand on his shoulder. She moved one of his hands to her waist, picked the other one up in hers, and looked at him expectantly.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re supposed to lead.”

“Oh. I don’t actually know how to dance, though.”

Noelle’s brows drew together, and she looked like she was about to sneeze. To his surprise, she started laughing. “You’re such an idiot,” she said, bending over and pressing her face against Asta’s shoulder.

“You forgot _Stupidsta,”_ Asta said. “And _ignorasta._ And don’t forget my new favorite, _dumberbund.”_ He pronounced it as _dum-burr-bund._

“Dummerbund,” Noelle’s voice was muffled against his jacket.

“What?”

Noelle turned her head so her face was no longer on his shoulder. “ _Dummer_ bund. No B.”

Asta could feel her breath against his neck. It tickled.

“There’s a B in there. You just said it.”

“No, I mean there isn’t one between the _dum_ and the _er.”_

"Oh, my God, Asta, kiss her already!”

“Third commandment, Nash!” Asta scolded automatically.

Noelle hid her face against Asta’s shoulder again, but he pushed her away gently.

“I meant what I said earlier, you know. You really are beautiful.” He brushed at a wisp of hair that had escaped her updo.

She shoved at him lightly. “Shut up.”

He leaned forward until their noses were brushing. “Make me,” he whispered.

Noelle’s fingers found the nape of his neck at the same moment her lips met his. The kiss was brief, but when he looked into Noelle’s eyes, he saw the longing there. It was a reflection of the way he’d felt, or at least the way he’d thought he’d felt, for Sister Lily all these years.

“Your hair,” he said, touching one of the pins cautiously.

“It’s fine,” Noelle assured him, and he buried his fingers in the shining platinum as he kissed her again. He’d just gotten as far as slipping his tongue between Noelle’s teeth when he heard footsteps approaching. Fortunately, Noelle had a clearer head than he did, and she pulled away before they became a public spectacle. She stared at his mouth, frowned a little, and wiped at his lips before checking her fingers.

“Lipstick,” she explained, showing the faint shimmer on her thumb.

“Oh,” he said. He didn’t feel capable of anything more than that. Words were hard when you were feeling dizzy and out of breath.

“Are you ever going to move?” an impatient voice asked.

Noelle made gestured to all the space around them, and the person, whoever it was, made a _tch_ of annoyance.

“Peasant,” Noelle muttered.

“I thought that one was just for me,” Asta said, finally finding his voice.

“You _are_ a peasant,” Noelle said. “But I like you.”

“I like you, too,” he confessed. “I also think I like kissing you.”

“You think?”

“Maybe we should try it again to be sure.” Did that sound as cheesy to her ears as it did to his? No wonder she called him Stupidsta.

“Maybe,” she agreed.

The third kiss was better than the first two, like a _lot_ better. Noelle’s fingers were entwined in his hair and he could feel the warmth of her body pressed against his, even through a jacket and pleated shirt and cumberbund. Cummerbund. The fancy belt thing. They were both out of breath when they separated. He could tell because Noelle’s chest was heaving. Asta realized he was staring, and he blushed and looked away. He was sure he was going to need to do some sort of penance for where he wanted to put his hands right now. And had it gotten warmer in here?

“Do you want to take a walk, get some fresh air?” He didn’t even recognize his own voice.

“I guess so,” she said. She turned her head in that familiar way she’d always done, but she also laced her fingers with his. He gave them a slight squeeze.

“Still want to go home?” he asked her once they were outside.

“Yes,” she said. “And no. This is our senior prom. We should at least get our picture taken. I’m sure Father Orsi will be devastated if you don’t have something for him to add to his Asta Shrine.”

“He doesn’t have an Asta Shrine; he has a Yuno Shrine.”

She shoved at him lightly, but she didn’t let go of his hand.

* * *

Inside, another couple was celebrating. Leopold picked up Kahono and spun her around.

“That was way more than I could have hoped for,” Kahono said, pressing her hands to her face when Leopold set her down. “No, it’s what I’d hoped for, but more than I’d _expected.”_

There was a snort, and they looked up to see Asta’s younger brother leaning in the doorway of the room where the middle school dance was being held. Gauche’s sister was with him, and they both looked immensely pleased.

“Amateurs,” Nash scoffed. The opening strains of a popular line dance could be heard, and Marie’s face lit up. She grabbed Nash’s hand and tugged, and he glanced at Kahono and Leopold as if to say _what can you do?_ before following Marie, presumably to the dance floor.

“Shown up by a couple of twelve-year-olds,” Leopold said, shaking his head and laughing quietly.

“Almost thirteen,” Kahono reminded him.

“They can have it,” Leopold said. “I’m out of the matchmaking business.”

“Me too,” Kahono hummed in agreement. She leaned back against Leopold and let out a sigh of contentment.

Although…

She’d suspected, ever since the day at the restaurant, when she’d learned of Rebecca’s existence, that Grey had a thing for Gauche. She didn’t see them often, but it was pretty obvious after today that Grey had been nursing her crush for at least that long. Probably longer. Kahono had wanted to cheer when Grey had kissed Gauche, and her heart had sunk when Grey turned and fled.

Those two probably didn’t need any help; Gauche had gone after her, after all. And she barely knew either of them. She would simply root for them from the sidelines, hoping that Grey’s obvious, albeit nonverbal, declaration of affection was the start of something new.

“Now that our job is done, my lady, do you think you’d like to get together again?”

Kahono turned and looked at Leopold. She’d thought he was cute before, but tonight he was devastatingly handsome. It might have been the tux – which he wore exceedingly well – but it also might have been their shared triumph over Asta and Noelle finally seeing what was right in front of them.

Maybe it was just Leopold.

“I’d love to,” she said.

“So when I ask you to dance, this time it’s because I want to dance with you, and not because it gives us a good vantage point.”

She’d known; she’d just _known,_ that senior year was the year that things were going to happen, but she’d never even considered that they’d happen for herself, too. Grey and Gauche were on their own. Kahono wasn’t really much of a matchmaker to begin with.

The two of them headed to the dance floor, Kahono’s hand in Leopold’s.

* * *

And in the room next door, Marie pulled a small notebook out of her purse and flipped to the first clean page, then went back one.

“Thirteen dollars,” she told Nash, holding her hand out, palm up.

“That doesn’t count. He didn’t really ask her out.”

“He said, and I quote,” Marie read aloud from the notebook, “’do you think you’d like to get together again.’ She said she’d love to. That totally counts.”

“He said it like hypo…hypo…”

“Hypothetically.”

“Yeah, that.”

“He also said that when he asked her to dance, it’s because he _wanted_ to dance with her. Just because he was trying to be cute and clever doesn’t make it count any less.”

“Fine,” Nash said, “but I owe you. I didn’t bring my wallet with me; it would have 'ruined the lines' of this suit.”

Marie put the notebook back in her purse. “I’m glad _you_ didn’t try to be cute and clever. You just came out and asked me.”

“I spent my entire life watching Asta propose to Sister Lily even after getting turned down every time. It was nothing, really.”

“I’m sorry about my brother. I know he can be intense.”

“And my brother’s a stalker who can’t take no for an answer. _Was_ a stalker,” he corrected. He gave Marie a one-armed hug. She was totally worth dealing with Gauche.

Marie beamed at him before running off to dance with her friends, and Nash leaned back against the wall, happy to see her laugh. He’d called her his girlfriend, but she was really his best friend.

Nash owed her thirteen dollars, but he knew she’d never try to collect it. A debt was a debt, however, and he was going to pay her. Or maybe, if Gauche wasn’t enough of a man to tell Grey how he felt, Nash would help Marie and her matchmaking efforts one more time, but just one more. She’d probably forgive him the thirteen dollars then.

He watched her as she danced. With her brother no longer glaring at anyone who went near her, she was having fun. Marie had never been anything but nice to Nash. She was smart and funny, and he supposed she was pretty, too – Nash wasn’t blind, after all – but it was the smart, funny, and nice parts that he liked best. It was why he’d spent all that time on her bracelet, picking out her favorite colors and everything. Then Gauche had to go all berserker mode when he saw it, demanding to know who had given it to her, as if he hadn’t already known. He was seriously overprotective.

Father Orsi and Sister Lily would severely disapprove of Nash’s thoughts at the moment, but he thought that maybe if Gauche got laid, or had a girlfriend, or a boyfriend, or even just went on dates, then the guy might remember what it was like to be a normal human being. That was it, then. If things didn’t work out with Grey and Gauche, Nash would definitely help move things along. Something, anything, to give Marie some breathing room. He’d give Marie the thirteen dollars, too. And maybe make her a beaded ring to go with her bracelet, something she could wear when they started high school together in the fall.

Nash looked up to Asta, but he wasn’t an idiot like him, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of fun to write. This last chapter was supposed to be a lot shorter, but so many of the characters just had to have their moment in the sun. I think I have a new 'ship in this fandom now, too. And I'm grateful to RubyLace for giving me a reason to play in the Black Clover sandbox.


End file.
